


Scars

by legendofbisexuals



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Catra and Adora are vulnerable because they're beginning to talk about their past, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, With a side helping of some good old sarcasm and jokes of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25315831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendofbisexuals/pseuds/legendofbisexuals
Summary: "When Adora changed in front of Catra for the first time after the war’s end, Catra hadn’t thought much about the various scars littering her girlfriend’s body. The dismissal of the several markings came not from a place of apathy, but rather of familiarity. Many of the marks on Adora’s body were familiar to Catra, faded from the time of their childhood...It wasn’t until the third time after the war’s end when Adora had been undressed in front of Catra that the sight of a new scar, albeit a healed one, caused Catra to freeze, guilt like she had never felt before running through her veins."Or; Catra and Adora have to begin talking about their past as enemies in order to move forward.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 207





	Scars

When Adora changed in front of Catra for the first time after the war’s end, Catra hadn’t thought much about the various scars littering her girlfriend’s body. The dismissal of the several markings came not from a place of apathy, but rather of familiarity. Many of the marks on Adora’s body were familiar to Catra, faded from the time of their childhood. Catra had been there with Adora for many of the markings’ occurrences -- in fact, she had even been the cause of one or two during their sparring sessions under the watchful eye of Shadow Weaver during their training days. And as for the ones which Catra didn’t recognize, the byproducts of the war they had fought on opposite sides, she didn’t feel it was quite her place to ask.

The first time they changed together was immediately after returning to the Bright Moon castle, Adora all but dragging Catra to her room as she attempted to get away from everybody else. Catra stayed dutifully by Adora’s side the whole evening as they dodged the interrogations and demands of the other princesses immediately following Prime’s defeat (though, staying so close had been less about comforting Adora and more about comforting herself, still feeling very watched under everybody else’s gaze), and had followed Adora back to her room without a word. Adora, sweaty and still bleeding, peeled her ruined shirt off the moment she shut the door behind her, highlighting several small knicks and scars around her arms and abdomen. Catra looked away, feeling a lump in her throat the size of a ration bar from the image of Adora’s arms and stomach so readily on display before her for the first time in over three years (and with an entirely new relationship status between them). Adora had noticed Catra’s clenched jaw and blush (of embarrassment? Attraction? Desire? She hadn’t quite determined what that look was) and quickly apologized, though Catra grunted that it was nothing before walking over to sit down, tail between her legs.

The next time was a few days later when Adora was getting dressed after a shower. As they had to share a room while in the palace, thanks to Glimmer being overcrowded with hosting all the princesses, finding Catra lounging in her bed was of no surprise to Adora. Adora only gave her a small warning before beginning to dress, and Catra grunted a nonchalant response. Before she could look away, Catra saw a large scar running from Adora’s thigh to her knee, poking out from the short length of Adora’s towel, and had wondered about the origin of such a marking, though she wouldn’t ask. As she dressed, Adora began talking Catra’s tail off about the frustrations of the meeting she had with Glimmer and Micah about some supply line or other which Bright Moon needed to send off, and the topic of the large scar was all together forgotten for Catra.

It wasn’t until the third time after the war’s end when Adora had been undressed in front of Catra that the sight of a new scar, albeit a healed one, caused Catra to freeze, guilt like she had never felt before running through her veins.

It had all started with a simple request.

“Can you toss me my night shirt?” Adora had asked as she sat on her bed, moving to tug her boots off. Catra, seated off to the side of the bed, reached for the tank top which Adora had rather carelessly tossed aside earlier that morning, and threw it over to Adora with ease. “Thanks,” Adora said, breathing a sigh of relief when the shoes were off. She gave Catra a tired smile as she grabbed the tank top, setting it in her lap. “I’ve never been so ready for bed before.”

“Did Sparkles wear you out today?” Catra teased her girlfriend -- a title which sent anxiety crawling through Catra’s body, creeping over her skin like bugs, terrified and exhilarated at the same time at the  _ newness  _ and the  _ meaning  _ behind such a word -- in a tone which held very little room for Adora to wonder if Catra was trying to flirt. “Should I be jealous?”

“Very funny,” she snarked, though an amused smile lit up her face. “But seriously, who knew you’d have to go to so many  _ meetings  _ after ending a war? I didn’t sign up to be She-Ra just to do paperwork about supply lines and whether or not we have the budget to rebuild a mess hall,”

“You didn’t really sign up for any of this at all,” Catra said sympathetically, standing and making her way to Adora’s side. “But Sparkles trusts you a lot to help her with...all of this fallout. I know you’re tired, and trust me; I’m just as antsy as you are to get out of this place and start the whole...power-of-friendship, bringing-magic-back-to-the-universe mission. Being here feels…” she paused, looking down at the marble ground. “I still feel like I’m not supposed to be here.”

Adora frowned. “Why? Is Frosta still giving you a hard time? I swear, I don’t care that she’s just a bratty teenager, if she punched you again--”

“No, no,” Catra said with a smile which looked more like a grimace, holding her hands up slightly. “No, she’s...warming up to me. I think.” She tilted her head to the side as though she was lost in thought, before looking back up at Adora. “It’s a me thing. I’m trying to work on it.”

This time, it was Adora’s turn to tease her girlfriend. “Just like you’re ‘working’ on your anger problems?”

Catra’s cheeks went red, a mixture of embarrassment and agitation. “You know, it really was Scorpia’s fault! She knows how much I don’t like hugs that catch me off-guard, and I just  _ blow up _ on her sometimes, which I  _ know  _ isn’t fair but that’s  _ also  _ something I’m trying to work on --”

“Catra,” Adora cut her off, placing a hand on Catra’s thigh. Catra fell silent. “You don’t need to feel insecure here. You’ve more than proven yourself as a friend to Glimmer and Bow. Scorpia has always considered you a friend, and Entrapta is...Entrapta. She forgives easily. And if the other princesses take a little while longer to warm up to you, that’s just because they haven’t spent that much time with you, yet. Everyone will come around and before you know it, you’ll feel like you’ve always been a part of the team.”

“Tell that to your horse,” Catra snorted. “I swear, he looks like he wants to kick me all the way to Dryl and back if he could.”

“Well, Swifty is always going to give you a hard time. He was my other half first, you know,” Adora laughed.

Mischief twinkled in Catra’s eye. “Oh, so it’s not Sparkles I should worry about as my competition; it’s a  _ horse _ ?”

Adora gave her girlfriend a shove, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have any competition, Catra,” Adora said softly, before letting her head gently land on Catra’s shoulder. Though the angle was a tad uncomfortable for Adora, sitting a few inches taller than the other woman, she let her eyes flutter closed as she relaxed. A few moments of comfortable silence passed between the two girls; the only sounds were the gentle noises of their breathing. After spending a moment too long with her eyes closed, nearly dozing off on Catra’s shoulder, Adora spoke. “I really need to get changed before I fall asleep in this,” she sighed, sitting upright once more. Adora moved to get out of bed and stretched, raising her arms high above her head. In a quick motion, her shirt was off of her body and tossed carelessly to the ground, and though Catra tried to look away as she usually did to give Adora at least a little privacy in their shared space, this time, as Adora reached behind her back to undo her breast bindings and let the fabric fall to the ground, Catra’s eyes landed on a new scar, a  _ fresh  _ scar, one she hadn’t seen before, and couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Before Adora could pull her tank top overhead, Catra crawled across the small bed, reaching out with a shaky hand. Her fingers delicately rested against the marking, a small gasp of surprise at the touch coming from the woman before her. Adora glanced over her shoulder, looking behind her. “Catra?”

Catra stretched out her fingers, curling them as though she was trying to scratch at Adora’s back, her throat swelling closed as she realized that her fingers fit the spaces between the marks perfectly. She hadn’t remembered leaving the mark on her own, and she doubted she would have if she hadn’t seen the scar; that day spent under Prime’s mind control when Adora had come to her rescue was all blurry. The constant in-and-out of consciousness she had over controlling her own actions was terrifying, and Catra could only really remember the moments  _ she  _ was there, speaking to Adora, not quite the ones when Prime had her under his control. 

“I--I did this,” she said, and Adora heard the hurt and regret lacing Catra’s voice.

“Catra, it’s okay,” Adora began, but found herself at a loss for words once she felt Catra lean forward, resting her forehead between Adora’s shoulder blades. Both of Catra’s hands now came to Adora’s back, almost as though Catra were trying to hide the scar from sight, as if that would undo her actions and take back all the pain she’s caused Adora over the years.

“No, it’s not okay,” Catra said with a shaky sigh, feeling hot tears welling up in her eyes. “I hurt you.”

“Catra, please,” Adora said, frowning herself. “This is hardly the first scar you’ve given me, and I’ve given you plenty, too.”

“And that makes it better?” Catra asked, exasperated, lifting her head away from Adora’s body once more. Not caring that she was topless, Adora turned around to face Catra, bringing her hands up to cradle Catra’s face. She began to speak once more, but Catra cut her off, bringing her own hands up to hold onto Adora’s wrists. “Just because I’ve hurt you more than once makes  _ this  _ scar okay?”

“That’s not what I said, Catra,” Adora sighed, stepping closer. “I just...we have a history, you know? Of course I’ve sustained a few marks from you. I’d be disappointed in you as a fighter if you couldn’t get a few good hits in,” Adora tried to joke, but could see that it fell flat for Catra. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Catra looked away, ashamed. “No. I just want to go to bed.”

Disappointment spread through Adora; they would have to talk about their past in order to truly start their future one day, but perhaps today wasn’t the day. She nodded once, turning away once more to finally put on her tank top. “Catra?” She said as she made her way into the bed, sitting beside the woman once more, “I forgive you. For this mark, and all the others. We’ll be okay.”

“We will?” Catra asked quietly, voice small.

Adora smiled at Catra, resting her head on her shoulder once more. “We will. We have all the time in the world to talk about everything now that the war is over.” 

A few minutes passed between the quiet girls, Adora’s fingers drawing comforting circles across Catra’s hands and arms. Catra wondered, sitting there, if Adora was being honest, if she really  _ had  _ forgiven her -- because Catra hadn’t quite made it to the point yet where she could forgive herself. 

Adora was the first to break the silence. “Are you sure you’re really okay sharing my room? Glimmer might be booked on beds, but I can always go stay in her room if you want the bed by yourself. Goodness knows she has enough pillows in there to sleep a small Horde army if needed.”

Catra waited a moment, trying to assess Adora’s tone. Was Adora implying something with a question like that? “Do  _ you _ not want to share a bed with me anymore?”

Adora lifted her head from Catra’s shoulder, her face stopping only inches away from Catra’s. “I never said that.”

“Well,” Catra said, her eyes falling from Adora’s eyes to her lips. “Why are you asking, then?”

“Because last night you seemed like you would have rather been anywhere else in the world,” Adora said quietly. “Even when we were kids, when we would have sleepovers, I’d fall asleep in your arms…” she trailed off, pulling away with a sigh. “You curled up as far away from me as possible yesterday. And every night before that for the last two weeks, you’ve stayed as close to the edge of the bed as possible. And we haven’t,” she blushed, eyes darting to the wall and back, “ _ kissed _ since we’ve gotten home. Did I do something wrong?”

Catra felt the back of her neck heat up as her eyes returned once more to Adora’s. The woman before her looked concerned, almost hurt, her gaze never leaving Catra’s. “No,” Catra said quietly. “Like I said, it’s just still hard for me to believe I’m wanted around...even with you,” she shrugged as though the words didn’t matter, but they hurt Adora to hear.

“Why, Catra?” Adora asked. “I thought -- we’ve been doing better, haven’t we?” She reached for Catra’s hand. “I know it’s not an overnight thing to erase three years worth of fighting and being…” she didn’t let the word they were both thinking cross her lips. “But I thought I was doing okay,”

“You are,” Catra said, giving Adora’s hand a tight squeeze. “Like I said, Adora, it’s a  _ me  _ thing. I was -- so alone once you left. And so hurt. And I didn’t let anybody in, even when Scorpia was really,  _ really  _ trying to get in.” Both girls shared a quiet laugh. Catra’s free hand traced over Adora’s knuckles. She grunted in frustration as she couldn’t think of the right words to say, letting out a deep sigh. “I’m not the greatest with feelings, if you can believe it.”

Adora’s nose scrunched up as she grinned. “Really? If you ask me, you’re right up there on the emotional maturity scale with Perfuma.” 

Catra snickered at that, swatting at Adora’s arm as she laughed at her own joke. After a moment, though, the smile fell from Catra’s face. “Even though I  _ know _ things are different now and we’ve said...what we’ve said,'' Catra swallowed, nervous for bringing up that big “L” word which hadn’t been spoken since the battle two weeks before. “I still am afraid that...one day, it might happen again.”

“What might happen again?” Adora pressed, moving closer to Catra.

Catra pulled her hand out of Adora’s hold, leaning back onto the bed and propping herself up with her hands. “Well, I don’t need you to get mad at me for saying what I’m thinking,” Catra looked away.

“I won’t get mad, Catra,” Adora promised, her hand finding its place on Catra’s thigh once more.

After several seconds of quiet, while still looking away, Catra said, “All I seem to do is hurt you. I mean -- that  _ scar _ , Adora. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you again, and I’m afraid you’ll leave me again.” She felt Adora’s fingers twitch on her thigh, before Adora pulled away, settling both of her hands in her lap.

“Did you mean it when you said it?” Adora asked, watching Catra closely. “When you said you loved me?”

Catra sat up almost immediately, confused as to where Adora was taking this conversation. “Of course I meant it,”

“Well,” Adora shrugged, “I did, too. I love you, Catra,” she said, bringing her legs up onto the bed and moving to rest on her knees, fully facing Catra now. Bringing a hand to the back of Catra’s neck, Adora leaned in slowly, resting her forehead against Catra’s. “When I left the Horde, I  _ never  _ thought of it as leaving  _ you _ . I’m so sorry that that’s what you felt. I would never leave  _ you _ , Catra. I tried to convince you to come with --” she cut herself off, her eyes squeezing closed, frustrated with herself. Adora’s fingers pressed gently into Catra’s skin, as though she was impossibly trying to pull her even closer. “But my intentions don’t matter. I  _ did  _ leave you, Catra, and I’m sorry. But I’ll never leave you again.”

Catra bit her bottom lip, bringing a hand up to rest gently on Adora’s wrist. “Promise?”

“I promise,” Adora whispered. “You’re my best friend; you always have been, and I  _ love  _ you, Catra.”

“I love you, too,” Catra’s voice was barely audible now, wavering as tears formed in her eyes. “I’m sorry I’ve been staying distant at night, I’ve just been so afraid to get attached again and,” she trailed off. 

“When we were in there, at the Heart, you asked me to stay. And I did, and I  _ will _ , Catra,” Adora said, lifting her head once more, looking back into Catra’s eyes. “So please, trust me.” Catra swallowed, her head nodding in silent assent as the words escaped her. After a moment, Adora breathed in deeply, a smile settling back on her face. “Well, now that that’s been sorted, can I expect that my girlfriend will actually kiss me again? Or at the very least, not seem like you’d rather drown yourself than have your skin come into contact with mine when we lay down at night?”

“Brat,” Catra rolled her eyes with a chuckle as she moved over to Adora, hand resting against the back of Adora’s neck. “I’m out here confessing my deepest insecurities to you when you know that talking about feelings is like coughing up furballs to me, and you just want a kiss?”

“I want to comfort my girlfriend first and foremost, of course,” Adora smiled, bringing her hand up to Catra’s face. Catra nuzzled into the touch, reveling in the feeling of Adora’s thumb stroking across her cheekbone. “But I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a kiss more than once every two weeks,” she teased. “Or I might start to wonder if I’m  _ that  _ bad of a kisser, or something.”

“I’m sorry --” Catra began, but Adora shushed her.

“I know. I’m teasing. Just kiss me,” she said, and not waiting for Catra to make the move this time, leaned in first.

It was softer than their first kiss, less frantic. No war was being waged around them, no threat of an enemy nearby or a time limit to saving the world to rush them. Adora’s hand moved from its place against Catra’s face, fingers coming up under Catra’s jaw, pulling her closer. In turn, Catra brought a hand to Adora’s hip, squeezing gently as she moved ever closer, almost crawling into Adora’s lap as she leaned into the taller woman’s body. Encouraging this, Adora brought both of her hands to Catra’s hips, pulling her closer so that Catra was sitting on her lap. Adora wrapped her arms around Catra’s torso, hands resting on her back as though she was holding Catra in place as she kissed her harder.

After a few minutes of gentle kisses and careful touches, fingers dancing across each others’ skin, Catra’s hands paused at the hem of Adora’s shirt, her breath hitching. “I’m sorry for being distant. I’ve been...scared,” she choked the word out.

Adora let out a breath of laughter, fingers dancing across Catra’s back. “Trust me, I am too. This is new. But we’ll work through it, okay?” Adora said.

Catra nodded. Her fingers slid ever so slightly under Adora’s shirt, feeling the warm skin of her belly. Her eyes shifted away from Adora, staring at the ceiling. She coughed a couple of times to clear her throat. “Well, you know, I can hold you tonight like I used to, if you want me to.”

“I would like that,” Adora smiled. After a beat, she spoke again. “And Catra? You know, I actually like the scar,” she said quietly.

“How?” Catra asked, looking up at Adora, bewildered. “It’s just another mark of us spending three years fighting each other when we could’ve been better.”

“No; it’s a mark of you coming  _ back  _ to me,” Adora whispered. “Sure, we had our hiccups, and I would’ve preferred to avoid a smackdown like that with you,” she smiled, “but you came back to me in the end, and now you’re home. I’d have a thousand scars from fighting you if it meant I get this chance to be with you now.”

Catra smiled at that, before leaning back. “Okay, getting too sappy for me here, Adora.”

“Says the girl who ran through fire for me and purred in my lap while on the spaceship,” Adora said in a sing-song voice. “You can act all tough and mighty, but you’ve been a real sap lately, too.”

With a shake of her head and a mumbled, “Whatever,” Catra rolled off of Adora, patting the space beside her. “Just lay down before I change my mind about holding you.”

Adora curled into Catra, resting her head on Catra’s shoulder as they settled into place. When Catra’s arms finally circled around Adora, pulling her close, Adora closed her eyes. “You better kiss me tomorrow and not leave me hanging again for another two weeks.” 

Catra groaned, though her lips quirked up. “You’re not going to let this go for a while, are you?”

Adora hummed her denial, smiling as she felt Catra press a gentle kiss on her forehead.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This was my first She-Ra fic. I'm very new to the fandom, but I love writing, so I figured I'd give it a shot with some catradora hurt/comfort. I'd love to know what you think! Feel free to write a comment here or come message me on my tumblr, @legendofbisexuals 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed getting some really vulnerable!catradora. While they're both really tough cookies, these girls definitely need to be open and vulnerable with each other and talk about their past before they can move forward. That idea is something that wouldn't leave me alone, so I hope I've done some justice in portraying what one of those first conversations might be like.
> 
> Also, this work was inspired by a piece of catradora fanart on tumblr by kinschi. Go give it some love! (Link: https://kinschi.tumblr.com/post/618677271417536512/scratch-marks-because-that-must-have-left-scars)


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